Methods and systems for measuring physical volume

a technology of physical volume and measurement method, applied in the direction of liquid handling, instruments, packaged goods types, etc., can solve the problems of inability to provide real-time monitoring of the delivery of liquid products for accurate inventory, large burden on the owner, and inconvenience for customers

US7177780B2Inactive Publication Date: 2007-02-13PILOT TRAVEL CENTS LLC
28 Cites 37 Cited by

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Patent Type
Patents(United States)
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2007-02-13
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

Smart Images

  • Figure 1
    Figure 1
  • Figure 2
    Figure 2
  • Figure 3
    Figure 3
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, systems, and computer program products for determining a volume of liquid product in a manifold set of tanks. The method includes identifying a plurality of book volumes of liquid product in the manifold set of tanks. The method further includes identifying a plurality of measured physical volumes of liquid product in the manifold set of tanks, each measured physical volume being associated with one book volume of the plurality of book volumes. Following collecting the volumes, the method includes determining a variance between each measured physical volume of the plurality of measured volumes and each book volume of the plurality of book volumes and then using those variances to generate an expected variance to each of the plurality of measured physical volumes, the combination of the expected variance and the measured physical volume being the volume of the liquid product in the manifold set of tanks.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 644,317, filed on Jan. 14, 2005, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Central Control, Monitoring, and Reconciliation of Liquid Product”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. The Field of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present invention extend to methods, systems and computer program products associated with the delivery, tracking, and reconciliation of liquid product inventory. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide for a liquid product book inventory to physical inventory reconciliation process that can be initiated and performed on a virtual real-time basis, regardless of ongoing sales transactions. Further, embodiments of the present invention are configured to measure and compensate for temperature variances at every point of physical measureme...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0013]Embodiments of the present inventions overcome these problems by providing various methods, systems, computer program products and devices. In one configuration, the present invention can include systems and methods for the central control and monitoring of product delivery based on anticipation of delivery through a request and authorization of product drop process. Prior to delivery of a product, the driver requests and receives authorization from a centralized service, such as a corporate based Centralized Inventory Management system, or CIM, sending authorization data to the driver and / or the retail facility to receive the liquid product. The driver can provide the CIM with information on a bill-of-lading. The driver can also provide additional information such as the supplier, the fuel source where the product was loaded, the carrier, driver's information, etc. In some embodiments, the driver can provide all of this information electronically using a portable computing de...